By Anthony Panciocco

Nobody grows up dreaming of being a great middle reliever or a shut-down set-up man, but the Boston Red Sox proved that relievers are essential to a successful playoff run. By adding solid starting pitching and timely hitting, the Red Sox have given themselves the chance to compete for a World Series title.

Koji Uehara wasn’t the first choice to be the Red Sox closer this year. He wasn’t even the second. But when Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey went down early in the regular season, Uehara inherited the job. Since being given the opportunity, Uehara has been everything the Sox have wanted and more.

In the regular season Uehara shined, converting 21 of 24 save opportunities with a miniscule 1.09 earned run average, the lowest among major league relief pitchers. Uehara has continued his dominance this postseason, recording five saves and a win thus far. He saved three of the Red Sox four games in the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers, including a rare five-out save in Game 5 in which he retired all five batters he faced in order.

Uehara was awarded the MVP of the ALCS, becoming the first reliever since the great Mariano Rivera in 2003 to win a League Championship MVP award.

But he couldn’t do it alone. As a team, the Red Sox have had a 3.05 bullpen ERA this postseason with a low 1.22 WHIP — which stands for walks plus hits per inning. Junichi Tazawa, Craig Breslow and Brandon Workman have combined for 17 and one third scoreless innings pitched, locking down the oppositions’ hitters between the starting pitchers and Koji.

At the plate, the Red Sox hit an anemic .202 in the ALCS, struggling against a Tigers rotation that is considered one of the best in the league. The offense was propelled by two huge homers, the first coming from David Ortiz in the eighth inning of Game 2. With the bases loaded, down by three runs, Ortiz launched a grand slam into the Red Sox bullpen to put the Sox ahead and even up the series.

In Game 6, with one win away from a World Series appearance, Boston found themselves down by a run in the seventh inning. Shane Victorino, who had been hitting .086 in the series, made up for his poor play with a grand slam over the green monster to put the Red Sox up 5-2, a score that would stand for the rest of the game.

While the Championship Series wasn’t the prettiest for the Sox, it mirrored the team that they have become. The wins were gritty and hard fought. They have become famous for their unruly beards, a sign of their toughness and camaraderie as a team.

The Red Sox will meet the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series for the fourth time. Boston swept the Cards in their last meeting in 2004, a result Red Sox Nation hopes will repeat itself in 2013.